


The Gods do not Know, the Demons do not Feel

by lalunaticscribe



Category: Chinese Mythology, 琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Character Death, Chinese Mythology and Folklore, Deal with a Devil, Demons, Epic Bromance, He gets better, Multi, Other, Post-Canon, Shapeshifting, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-19 19:24:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11904573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaticscribe/pseuds/lalunaticscribe
Summary: “All that hate... all that resolve... the Chiyan Army lies in your heart.”Snow seemed to fall down, as if the skies were already weeping for the fallen. A burst of frosty wind clawed at the furs of his stole.“Since you are willing to put them to rest, then let me have this heart contained with all that hate.”It was too late to stop the monster from disappearing with the heart of Mei Changsu.





	1. Prologue: The Root

# Prologue: The Root

Langya Hall has always done its trade with a great deal of mysticism. Despite its remote locations in the mountains of Langzhou, its position in the pugilist world and other factors – namely, the River Left Alliance – there was still a certain oracular air towards the pronouncements, answers and rankings issued from its rooms. Amongst the precious volumes was one folded paper, sealed with yellowed paper smeared with cinnabar ink, which no Master of Langya Hall would ever be permitted to open.

_Should mortals no longer be able to assist,_ the current master had said as he pressed the paper into the young master’s hands, _and there is a point at which no price is too high for a miracle..._

Beside the man-made lake of the Su residence, Lin Chen broke the seal. In the height of summer, when the heat and humidity of the south cloaked the capital, a north wind blew. Water rippled. The paper within caught fire and began to light up with brilliant blue flame.

A pair of embroidered shoes fluttered above the ripples of the lake. The lady in question moved her sleeves above the water, the cloth black enough that it seemed to suck all the ambient moonlight from around her.

“The master of Langya Hall has called upon this sad house.”1

“...don’t you feel tired standing on the lake?” Lin Chen still made a salutation. “My father entrusted this favour to me. To have summoned a fairy from the heavens is incredible, but I am unsure about the extent of the favours owed by this Old Elder towards Langya Hall.”2

“Langya Hall is not that lucky. This sad house is only a spirit who has cultivated a form. The favours owed to Langya Hall extend only as far back as the human Yongchang era. Two hundred years ago, the first Master Lin set up the hall, from which this sad house had received some assistance. It has been a while since this sad house have been called upon to return the favour.”3

Lin Chen’s smile did not quite reach his eyes. It looked like a joke, this young lady talking about matters from two centuries ago, but so far evidence of strange forces at work have not worked to the contrary. “Only since the establishment of Mt Langya and Langya Hall itself, then. Such an esteemed guest must have received much of my ancestors’ help. I would not know, has Old Elder divined the purpose of this favour?”

The lady gestured with her head. “There is only one purpose for which this sad house will be willingly called upon by mortal humans. He needs time.”

Lin Chen did not hesitate. “Yes.”

“Time for which you cannot adjust to?”

“He is... determined.”

“He is stubborn. It is not the first time that mortals have thrown away their good health for their ideals.” There was a regal set about her chin and the bend of her neck to glance at Lin Chen. “You wish for his physical health. Another way without using the _Bingxu_ grass.”

“Elder really can divine such things.” Lin Chen had some admiration.

“Man proposes, heaven disposes.” She contemplated again, before pulling a bundle from her sleeve. “I have here a fox fur stole for protection against cold. I will give you three silver needles to induce sleep, each time for three days at a stretch. As for the arrangements with the otherworld, I will find a way to delay the messengers. As long as this arrangement stands, I dare say that his three higher spirits and seven baser instincts will not scatter.”4

“Which means that Changsu must never see Elder then.” Lin Chen nodded.

The lady gave a lazy smile. “I will collect my price at the end. As long as Mei Changsu does not come to the Cliffs of Mei, he will never die save of old age.”

Lin Chen thought a bit, and then gave a decisive nod. “Too bad Langya Hall’s favour does not extend to the secret to eternal life. I believe, that Elder would not go back on her promise.”

“Then it is agreed.” She turned, the water rippling with her dark sleeves and long hair. In her head, not even the hairpiece glowed – fathomless and black, was Lin Chen’s impression.

“How may I address Elder?”

But there was already nothing there. Cicadas, slowly, one by one, began to resume their chirp.

* * *

A procession of seasons passed. Events came to fruition. Once or twice only did death loom in the direction of the Su residence. Just when all their aims had been reached, and then Great Liang was ambushed on ten sides, it all came back to here: a yawning chasm of unforgiving rock, under steep craggy drop-offs from which there was no recourse.

The Cliffs of Mei.

“You cannot go there, Changsu.” Lin Chen had told his friend – begged, if there was such a word to describe the young master of Langya Hall. “Promise me that you will not go there.”

The handsome young man, in armour, shining with health, had smiled. It was a sad smile – one that preceded the breaking of a promise. War was such a thing, that Lin Chen could not personally take the Liang army’s strategist from this battlefield which had once been burnt to ashes.

“ _All that hate... all that resolve... the Chiyan Army lies in your heart._ ”

Snow seemed to fall down, as if the skies were already weeping for the fallen. A burst of frosty wind clawed at the furs of his stole.

“ _Since you are willing to put them to rest, then let me have this heart contained with all_ _that_ _hate._ ”

Crimson showed against the snow and the fur. Bone broke, skin tore. There was a sound, Lin Chen thought, as he saw the lady who could not be human dig her fingers into his back and drag something fisted out.

“ ‘As long as Mei Changsu does not come to the Cliffs of Mei, he will never die save of old age’,” she parroted.

“Vile spawn!” a cry came out. “Villain! Traitor!”

Such a beautiful face remained unaffected by the evil by which the being behind it had wrought. She remained floating. “This promise is kept.”

So speaking, the lady – woman, demoness, _monster,_ he did not care – floated, about to disappear into the ether. Thunder drummed, and lightning forked and arced in the clear skies. Drums of war resounded, and in the distance a heroic figure astride a horse – Commander Meng, he realised – was here, at the same time that another strange being, this one luminous in direct contrast to the heart-stealing monster, had descended.

It was too late to stop the monster from disappearing with the heart of Mei Changsu.

* * *

**1 ZH:  哀家 (aī jiā). Chinese first-person honorific for widows, more usually used in dramas by Empress Dowagers to refer to themselves.**

**2 Lin Chen addresses her as ‘lao qian bei’ ( 老前辈) which is used only for the most elderly and respected.**

**3 Eastern Jin dynasty, CE 321-323. According to [Liang Primer by ofsevenseas](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7534060/chapters/17128459), the Liang dynasty which is the setting of NiF is somewhere around CE 502 to 557.**

**4 One of the traditions within Taoism proposes a soul structure of sān hún qī pò  三魂七魄; that is, "three hún and seven pò", with hún being the higher spirit which governs personality, and pò being the animal soul which accounts for growth and physical functions. The concepts of hún and pò also lends itself to the Chinese idiom hún fēi pò sàn (魂飞魄散): to be scared to death.**


	2. 甲: Armour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "In this world, is there an Emperor who is stubborn enough to call down to Hell for a mere citizen over a case of death by stolen heart?”

 

#  **甲** **: Armour**

The luminous lady followed them back to the military camp. Though the enemy state of Yu had been beaten, she still drew attention from her barely floating above the ground. She drew so much attention that nobody noticed three men carrying a corpse wrapped in a fur cloak back into Mei Changsu’s tent. There was already a futon, a brazier and plenty of furs heaped onto the designated rest area, upon which Mei Changsu was laid out for emergency treatment.

“He survived the massacre at the Cliffs of Mei, being poisoned with the world’s strangest poison, and being poisoned again, and at the very last moment a demon _tears out his heart_.” Commander Meng Zhi hissed towards the physician currently tending to the wound. “We don’t even know which demon he offended. Didn’t he read the Analects? Doesn’t he know to keep a respectful distance from gods and demons?” 1

“Don’t talk,” Lin Chen ripped open the cloak, packing more wadding into the hole in the corpse’s- Mei Changsu’s back. “Luckily Commander Meng came so quickly, or I would have had to find Fei Liu. As for our other guest, can you please don’t float here? We already know who you are, but not of your background or purpose.”

Meng Zhi sighed. The skirt-chasing Lin Chen was actually talking down to a beautiful woman. Were the situation less grave, he might have even been inclined to relate this entire nightmare to- to- to Little Shu. But Little Shu, now Mei Changsu was- _is_ -

A muffled thump came, and the luminous lady in her voluminous robes gave a curtsy. “This little demon Lí, courtesy name of Hailí, pays her respect to Commander Meng and this young master. This little one was ordered to come here to rescue a mortal from my older sister, but I have come too late.”

“He is dead!” Meng Zhi rounded on her prostrate form. “You’re definitely late? Your sister?”

“Perhaps you should start from the beginning,” Lin Chen suggested, still staunching blood. “Actually, if you know any magic, you should start from there. There are lives at stake here!”

“Ah, yes!” Meng Zhi exclaimed. “Demoness, hurry up! Can you revive the dead?” His voice was hopeful.

“This little one cannot, but I will do what I can.”

The radiant beauty calmly went to Mei Changsu and pulled down one eyelid, clawed open his mouth to check his tongue, and then examined the wound in question before murmuring a chant that caused the surrounding area to freeze. Frost was already forming in the pile of furs when Lin Chen left, and when he had brought in a basin of hot water the pile of furs surrounding Mei Changsu, once called Lin Shu, once called Su Zhe, was already frozen.

“This young master’s three _hún_ and seven _pò_ have been temporarily gathered, but his heart and pericardium are already taken,” she explained. “Sooner or later, his body will rot, and then his spirit will have nowhere to return to even if the heart was restored.”

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes at her. “You don’t have a way to stop that?!”

The radiant demoness threw up her hands. “Please forgive me!”

“Enough,” Commander Meng stepped in. “Miss, I think it’s best if you were to explain the situation more clearly.”

* * *

The coals of the brazier glowed fiercely under a layer of white ash as Ji Lí related her story:

“In the _Rites of Zhou_ , it is written that shell-lime is needed to safeguard tombs, especially those of royalty. The Duke of Qi, Jiang Shang-”2

Meng Zhi raised his hand. “Wait. How did this whole thing start a thousand years ago?!”

Guileless, wide eyes blinked very slowly, in a manner not unlike Fei Liu – that, or a cow’s eyes, was his thoughts. “This young master said to explain the situation.”

“Never mind him,” Lin Chen cut through the barb, nearly physically holding the physician back by mere presence. “Keep talking.”

“The Duke of Qi awakened two clam spirits by using a clamshell with two perfect halves within the shell-lime,” she dutifully continued. “The older of the two of us was my elder sister, Gé, with the insect radical and ‘harmony’ (蛤). I am the younger, Lí（蜊）. Because of the circumstances behind our creation, my sister serves the Jiang clan, and I serve the Ji clan; for that reason, she is Jiang Gé as I am Ji Lí, and we serve nominally different masters. One thousand five hundred years ago, the pair of us were tasked to protect the tomb of King Wen of Zhou3 and Duke Jiang’s precious knowledge for future endeavours to come. That is why the pair of us are clams who hide books4 – we were tasked to record and keep all of the knowledge of the ages, no matter the dynasty.”

“Oh, I get it. Because _gé_ and-” Meng Zhi coughed as an elbow hit his armoured sternum. “Carry on.”

“Because Duke Jiang joined King Wen in rebelling against the Shang in the first place, and then became King Wu’s precious Prime Minister, we sisters split our roles,” Ji Lí pretended not to see Lin Chen withdrawing his elbow. “My elder sister would support great ministers from the shadows in times of peace, and in times of war this little demon would assist the founding emperors of dynasties.”

“You mean rebels,” Meng Zhi whispered.

“No matter which mortal man is the Son of Heaven, they are still mortal,” Ji Lí shook her head. “If they lose they are rebels. But if things like the Battle of Gaixia happened, they have founded a dynasty.”

The way that Ji Lí spoke of it, it was as if she had been there when the Han dynasty was won by Emperor Gaozu of Han. Both humans stealthily leaned away at that thought.

“Thirteen years ago, my sister was around the Eastern Sea,” Ji Lí continued speaking. “Her pearl, containing part of her powers, was taken by a soldier. The five phases within her went out of control, almost like it was barely contained within her body. My sister managed to suppress it, but she no longer felt anything; happiness, joy, anger, or sadness.”

“Heartless.” Lin Chen spat.

Ji Lí slowly considered. “Yes. ‘Heartless’ might be perfect to describe her current state,” she admitted. “A year ago, though, she contacted me with news of a way to recover her emotions. This method involves a mortal who is prepared to die, but is burdened with the heavy weight of his own feelings in life.”

Lin Chen sat up straighter.

“This man’s heart has somehow become a receptacle of hatred borne from the grievances of an army unjustly killed,” she related in a monotone, as if the tragedy of speculation or accurate recounting was merely something to get past. “You mortals call such magic _Gu._ It is a poison-magic prevalent in the south of the Central Plains. The traditional preparation of _Gu_ involved sealing several venomous creatures inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor. To the demons and monsters of the rivers and mountains, it can boost our _yin_ nature. Therefore, the moment that this survivor came here prepared to die, my sister would kill him and steal his heart, and with it the ghosts of his past haunting him. All she had to do was extend his lifespan until his goals were reached, and made sure that he arrived at the Cliffs of Mei. My sister wants this young master’s heart to eat it and restore her essence.”

“Eat it?” Lin Chen turned slightly green at the thought. “But he is only one person... how much hate and resolve can he...”

 _Mei Changsu is not only Lin Shu,_ a foreboding caution came to mind. _He also carries the burden of hope for seventy thousand dead souls._

He sank, almost folding in on himself. “The Chiyan Army.”

Meng Zhi’s eyes lit with realisation, but then dimmed. “This is ridiculous! It goes against reason and law! Little Shu didn’t die from all the machinations of court, not on the battlefield, but here at the frontier, assassinated by some random spirit?! So what do we do now?!”

“...Perform funeral rites?” the radiant demoness blankly gestured. “I was too late to stop my sister. She escaped with her target.”

“You are her sister! Can’t you find her?” Lin Chen demanded, already mapping in his mind the members of the River Left Alliance who could be called upon. “I imagine that the pugilist world would be very grateful.”

Ji Lí fluttered her eyelashes. “Before today, the last time I saw my sister was... the Sima clan was in power then.” She sighed. “We might as well bury him and wait for the Black and White Impermanences to report this case and let him reincarnate immediately.”

Meng Zhi stared at her, and then held up his fist. The gesture was not exactly helpful.

“I don’t know your plans, but I know what I will do from here. Chase after the demon.” One thumb rose. “Catch the demon.” His index finger came up. “Get Little Shu’s heart back.” The middle finger was next.

“Miss Ji, the one responsible was your elder sister,” the general continued. “You cannot escape this either. If you cannot help, then I must-”

He stopped, trying to think of an adequate threat. “Anyway... it will not be a good experience for you, even if you know magic.”

The lady lifted a hand to her melon-seed face. Given the light that literally radiated from her skin, it seemed really as though a goddess had descended from the heavens, if only there was something in her face that indicated an utter lack of care for the one she had claimed to rescue.

“I do not think that you wish for your elder sister to incur the troubles from making an enemy of the River Left Alliance on top of the Liang Imperial Court,” Lin Chen finally said. “Even if the pair of you are demons, and can live forever without ageing, I think within the next hundred years we would at least succeed in killing one of you. I would prefer that beauties like the pair of you survive – it would ease my conscience.”

“Young Master,” Ji Lí answered. “If you kill me, you risk calling all demons from the mountains and waters after you.5 If you chase my sister, you can chase for the rest of your life to the corners of the heavens and the seas and still fail. My sister has time to wait for all of you to die of old age. Furthermore, even assuming that you succeed in recovering the stolen heart, this dead young man will not revive either. That would require a case to be reported to the Ten Courts of Hell and the authorities of this land to report not only a serious miscarriage of justice, but also an overturning of the natural order. In this world, is there an Emperor who is stubborn enough to call down to Hell for a mere citizen over a case of death by stolen heart?”

To her great surprise, the general and the physician exchanged looks and smiles of chagrin.

“That man,” Lin Chen thought aloud. “Does that bullish temper have any chance?”

“Yes,” Meng Zhi agreed. “Don’t talk about the next world yet. At least in this world, nobody would match the Crown Prince in temper and stubbornness.”

* * *

**1 ZH:  敬鬼神而远之 (jìng guǐ shén ér yuǎn zhī). This sentence, meaning ‘respect the gods and demons but from afar’ is written in the Analects of Confucius.**

**2 Jiang Ziya ( 姜子牙, fl. 11th century BCE), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang dynasty in ancient China. He continued to serve as Zhou's prime minister as the Duke of Qi. In Fengshen Yanyi (封神演義) or ‘Investiture of the Gods’, where he is a 72-year-old Taoist apprenticed under the elder Yuanshi Tianzun and carries the List of Gods, which determines the roster of gods in the Celestial Bureaucracy from the battle between Shang and Zhou. He is the thousand-year-old fox spirit Daji’s arch-rival.**

**3 Ji Chang ( 姬昌), posthumously honoured as King Wen of Zhou, is the one most associated with Jiang Ziya in popular culture. Hi son Ji Fa would later conquer the Shang dynasty and set up the Zhou dynasty, but in Fengshen Yanyi, the link between Jiang Ziya and the Zhou dynasty was created by Ji Chang hiring Jiang as Prime Minister first.**

**4 This is a pun on  藏书阁 (cang shu ge) ‘library’ and 藏书蛤 (cang shu ge) ‘clam that hides books’.**

**5 ZH:  魑魅魍魎 (chi mei wang liang) – refers to demons of the mountains and rivers.**


	3. 乙: Twist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is your friend worth taking on demons for?”
> 
> The Emperor’s eyes flashed. “Yes.”

#  **乙** **: Twist**

The city of Jinling was famed for its royal brilliance, with the Royal Palace of the Emperor of Liang at its centre. The grandeur of its buildings and facades might have turned slightly more martial when the new Crown Prince had been elevated.

White flags, ribbons of hemp, and funeral money fluttered in the wind and blotted out the sky with the late spring. The people dressed themselves in the white of mourning. Music, laughter, and banquets vanished from every household. Lamentations, esoteric prayers, and recitations of sutras had rung through the golden mausoleum that was the capital. Announcements and heralds were pasted at every thoroughfare to announce the cause of such staidness:

_The Emperor has returned to Heaven. The Liang Empire has been orphaned._

* * *

As ordered by Imperial edict, for seven days a simplified version of the twenty-seven ceremonies for putting the body in the coffin had been conducted in deference to the stretching winter. Calling the Emperor’s soul, bathing him, the clothing ceremonies, laying him in his coffin, and the official closing of the coffin in the Imperial Mausoleum – all were carried out with unprecedented pomp and ceremony where weather allowed.

The crown, with twenty-four tiers of jade pearls, was now presented to the chief mourner in this whole affair. The Empress held up the imperial tunic – it had been previously held by a maid, but taken by the sovereign wife in some gesture of understanding, if not intimacy.

“Your Majesty,” said the new Empress of Liang. “It is time.”

Wordless was the new Emperor as he put on the imperial tunic over mourning robes, the imperial crown was placed upon his head, and then he marched out before the ladies-in-waiting could attack him with pearl powders. However, Xiao Jingyan was delayed by the fact of the Empress Dowager waiting outside; his eyes widened in surprise and he had barely begun to speak when metal crashed against stone.

The head eunuch Gao Zhan hurried. “The royal carriage is leaving! Where is Your Majesty going? Ah, greetings to Your Imperial Highness the Empress Dowager.”

Xiao Jingyan’s face turned scarlet.

“...it has been a scant seven days since Your Majesty inherited the throne in the presence of His Late Majesty’s coffin,” Empress Dowager Jing observed. “Though the coronation has yet to be conducted, today is your first day on the throne. I have come to see you off to court.”

“This... lonely one appreciates Mother Empress’ effort.”1

“You are currently in mourning. I will not blame you for this.” The Empress Dowager was serene in her solemn robes of mourning black and white. It made scant difference from her choice of everyday wear, except that she had kept away her jewels in deference of the mourning customs. “Let us depart then.”

The new Emperor insisted on walking. Behind him, the Empress Dowager was terribly reminded of a bull fording the rivers with a plough on his back. “Commander General Meng has returned at last,” he said. “The funeral plaque has its justification.”

“General Meng brought back Little Shu’s... body?”

“...Yes.” the Emperor nodded. “Little Shu will receive the highest of honours as a hero of the country. It is the least I could do.”

“If it would remain at that, it would be of great comfort to the state treasury,” was the Empress Dowager’s mild reply. “If anything needs to be done, I will assist.”

Despite Xiao Jingyan’s notorious frugality in personal matters, the military ceremonies for decorum and morale tended to be rather more martial than civil. More than one elderly noble had fainted at the fierce strikes of drums that reverberated as far as the capital. Funerals as well – the solemnity of current mourning had been performed with a warrior-like air, as if the state of Great Liang was an orphan picking up after itself to stand ready for the next battle to come.

“Then,” continued the Empress Dowager, “what name shall he be buried under?”

“All of them,” was the Emperor’s only reply. “I will write the inscription of the tomb myself.”

“There is only one poem to write, yes,” was her observation. She was, of course, referring to a poem composed by Chief Shu Qitian of the Cliff Dragon Sect so many years ago:

_He glitters in the distance like ice, like snow. Serenely, a subtle fragrance floats along the winding river. Recognising all heroes of this world, at the head of East River is Mr. Mei._ 2

* * *

“This general presents himself to His Majesty. May His Majesty live for ten thousand years,” came the automatic salutation once Xiao Jingyan had separated from the Empress Dowager at the entrance of the Inner Palace, headed into the great hall and installed himself on the dragon seat.

“Dispense with the courtesies, General Meng,” was the curt reply. “General, congratulations on your victory.”

“It was the victory of the army, Young Majesty, and not mine alone.”

“Noted. I will issue the rewards accordingly once the official tally of casualties and merits have been tallied. Has Little Shu’s corpse been received with the utmost respects?”

Meng Zhi was silent for a moment with regards to the abrupt change in subject. “Strategist... Lin Shu has certainly been carried back in accordance with the royal mandate,” Meng Zhi replied. “There were complications to be accounted for. I have the report. This incident, as investigated by Master Lin of Langya Hall, has been confirmed as unrelated to the attacks on four sides of the border. I have his report here.”

As dictated by protocol, the attending eunuch carried up the report – which was probably the only thing keeping Xiao Jingyan in his seat. It took only a momentary scanning before the report was tossed to the ground in a fit of fury. “What scam has this Lin Chen reported here?! Does he think that this absolves him from blame!”

“May Your Majesty cease your royal temper. Every word reported by Master Lin is absolutely not false,” Meng Zhi had immediately stood at attention. “Master Lin is assuredly not dressing at gods and playing devils.3 This general did indeed see... the event, but was too far away to stop the... villain from escaping.”

“Not only was Little Shu assassinated, but his heart torn out from his chest, and she escaped!” the Emperor shot back. “General Meng, I do not believe in demons and gods. Though I am the Son of Heaven,” and here Xiao Jingyan’s tone took on an acerbic bent, “I am as mortal as any of us. That is the reality.”

It was useful, of course, to claim that the Emperor was no common mortal! As the Son of Heaven, he had the Mandate of Heaven to govern all men. He was protected by the gods, taught by great philosophers, and watched over by benevolent ancestor spirits. In the capital city at the centre of the world, he had the support of ministers and generals, the heroes of the world; in the Inner Palace, the most beautiful women took turns to fulfil his least desire. To serve the Emperor was to venerate Heaven and Earth, which ushered in peace and prosperity.

To counter all of this, Jingyan would have simply pointed to his predecessor’s greatest mistake of killing his eldest son and his strongest army with his best friend – proof that even divinity did not equate to infallibility. The promotion of any divinity from the Mandate, to his mind, only invited ambitious idiots to revolt in the name of claiming said mandate as legitimising in the chance of Jingyan’s loss.

Meng Zhi prostrated himself – it was an empty gesture. Both of them knew that, even if Jingyan did not believe Meng Zhi, he would still do anything to salvage any remainder of Lin Shu, Mei Changsu or Su Zhe. “Your Majesty, we have brought proof in the form of a witness.”

Xiao Jingyan frowned. “Then where is the witness?”

“The witness is unable to enter the Royal Palace,” Meng Zhi informed him. “She is at the Su residence. The men with the River Left Alliance have already stationed themselves there. Little Shu... is at the underground passage.”

The Emperor squinted in suspicion. “Why there? Wait, don’t say anything. Raise the royal carriage and go to the Su residence.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

* * *

“Su- _gege_ , Water Buffalo is here.”

A youth in light blue clothes pouted. youth now stood quietly in light blue robes. Like the source of the light in the underground passage between the Su residence and the former Prince of Jing’s residence, his features were mesmerizing. An air of icy solitude surrounded him, forbidding people from getting close – between the luminous lady and the icy youth, it was hard to tell which one of them was inclined to the otherworld.

“Su- _gege_ , Water Buffalo is here!” Feiliu shouted louder. “Get up!”

There was no reaction. It is a corpse.

Silk rippled overhead. A neck craned. Shadows were cast from flickering torches and from the very skin of the woman, who slowly raised her hands with sleeves trailing from them to very slowly make the gesture of prostration at the sound of footsteps. Her form changed – her voluminous sleeves became tightly bound, her hair changed shape, even the set of her shoulders broadened.

“This little demon Ji Lí, courtesy name Hailí, pays her respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy fortune and peace.”

“...Meng Zhi, this matter has gone too far.”

“Your Majesty, this general is behind you.”

“Meng Zhi?! There are two of you?”

“Better let them get up first.”

Feiliu blinked. “Water Buffalo!”

The Emperor relaxed. “Feiliu is here, how are you?”

“Wake Su-gege.”

“Well, get up.” Xiao Jingyan gestured, sharp and stiff.

“This little one had no other recourse than to borrow General Meng’s face in order to prove myself.” Before the Emperor’s eyes, Meng Zhi lifted his forearm, and one swipe revealed Lin Chen’s mocking smile.

“Because of reasons which take a long time to explain, the young master behind me has been killed and his heart stolen by my elder sister.” Another sleeve of voluminous white hid Lin Chen’s face for a brief moment before the cold features of Feiliu had the Emperor still watching intently.

Throughout the entire affair, Feiliu’s face had already slackened to stare at her back.

“Your Majesty can choose to believe Hailí, or disbelieve me.” A twitch of both hands changed Feiliu’s features into the ageing eunuch Gao, which drew a sharp cough from behind the Emperor. “But, in order to retrieve the heart which was stolen from your friend, and save your friend who lies dead there and preserved only by my magic from the dead, you can only follow Hailí on every directive. Once you commit, there is only either failure or success – no compromises.”

The old eunuch’s eyes crinkled with age, before the face melted away like a mask to show the Emperor’s face to the smirk of Mei Changsu himself. “Is your friend worth taking on demons for?”

The Emperor’s eyes flashed. “Yes.”

* * *

**1 At this point, the Emperor has the right to use the first-person pronoun  朕 (zhèn); considering how soon the previous emperor has been entombed, amongst other reasons *cough* still mourning Mei Changsu et al. *cough* – I think Jingyan would probably choose to go with 寡人 (guǎrén) ‘this lonely one’ to especially demonstrate how he has no equals and no fathers now.**

**2 This is the original poem from NiF:  遥映人间冰雪样, 暗香幽浮曲临江. 遍识天下英雄路, 俯首江左有梅郎.**

**3 ZH:  装神弄鬼 (zhuāng shén nòng guǐ): to deceive people.**


	4. 丙: Dazzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Speak! How do we differentiate a demon?”
> 
> “Use a Demon-Reflecting Mirror.”
> 
> Lin Chen held out his hand, only to have dark eyes fall on him. “Well?”
> 
> “I don’t have one-”
> 
> “WHAT?!”

 

#  **丙** **: Dazzle**

Xiao Jingyan listened to the entire report – the demon sisters, the assassination at the Cliffs of Mei, and the ripping out of his friend’s heart – with an expression like stone. They had adjourned to the main study of the Su residence, a tea set was already laid out, and Hailí was absolutely beautiful – even inhumanly so, such that Jingyan’s heart was not moved more than it was frightened. “Hatred... the Chiyan Army.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Meng Zhi added. “This was exactly what we thought.”

“So that was why she wants his heart...” the Emperor of Liang thought aloud, before turning to the luminous lady with many faces. “And you, Hailí, are helping us thwart your sister and retrieve Little Shu’s heart in order to stop her from going down the wrong path?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It has already been four months.”

“We sisters are clam spirits,” the effulgent shape-shifter explained. “When a clam eats something foreign that was not of its body, it must wrap that foreign thing in its mantle and cover it in mother-of-pearl. After a while, that thing becomes a pearl. Even if my sister immediately ate Mr Su’s heart-” and this sentence drew much horrified looks all around, “-that heart would stay viable for a year. It is for this reason that we can chase after Sister Beike to retrieve it rather than leave Mr Su’s case to the Ten Courts of Hell and its auspices.”

Snapping open his fan, Lin Chen sighed. “I say, don’t the two of you have any creativity? One of you is ‘shell’, and the other is ‘sea clam’. Even if you change your courtesy names it doesn’t have to be so direct, right!”1

Jingyan blatantly ignored the physician’s outburst. “Then why are we here, instead of finding that demon?”

“We clams who hide books, though we have received cognisance from divine authority, are still spirits,” Ji Lí explained, still pouring out tea. “The Royal Palace, rife with corruption and greed it is sometimes, is still a place with the royal air. We cannot enter the Royal Palace directly. When the divine mandate is weakened is when we can enter the palace, and once we enter, we can stay there. Right now is the state mourning period for the previous Emperor. For this twenty-seven months of mourning, the divine power of the palace is diluted. It is at this time that my sister will enter the Royal Palace and copy the archives.”

“ _Copy books_?” Meng Zhi repeated. “Surely copying books doesn’t need two spirits to deal with that?”

“My sister entered the Inner Palace to get the contents of Xianyang Palace’s library before,” the demoness with skin that gave off light continued. “After the burning of books and burying of scholars, the two of us are perhaps the only ones who would recall the Hundred Schools of Thought.2 For the preservation of all knowledge in history, even if it violates mortal laws, this matter can only be entrusted to us gods and demons.”

“We don’t need to argue about that,” Jingyan firmly decided. “We need to know how that demoness would enter the Palace. Showing us your ability to change form, I think she also has this same ability?”

“Replying Your Majesty, Sister is indeed able to change shape.” Ji Lí looked down at her hands. “But, owing to her five elements being disrupted, her shape-shifting ability was equally influenced. I believe that currently she is restricted to the _yin_ – that is, she can only assume female forms. Even so, her charm skill has been honed to the point that it would take high enlightenment to resist. Mortals would swear that the heavens were yellow under her spell.”

“No matter how beautiful your sister is,” said Lin Chen, “it can’t be that powerful, right?”

One pearlescent fingernail tapped the surface of the low table that everyone had sat around. “Replying to Young Master Lin, the word for ‘charm’ is written with the demon radical for this reason – it is demon magic, and the easiest of the arts at that.3 The story of the fox spirit Daji causing the downfall of the Shang dynasty is the best known example. However,” she paused, “right in the imperial presence, I do not think that either of us can recklessly use magic without giving away the presence of demons in the capital.”

Lin Chen decisively snapped his fan shut. “The first aim is to find my sister. The second is to compel Changsu’s heart from her, and to revive him. Failing that, Your Majesty,” and this word was said very ironically, “may report this miscarriage of justice to the Courts of Hell, and request a revival from the dead. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but humans themselves cannot overturn the laws of Heaven and Hell. This last step can therefore be said to ‘have no forebears and no followers’.4 Luckily, we have the current Emperor, otherwise we can only bury Changsu.”

Meng Zhi sighed. “But... this demoness can change shape into anyone. In theory, everyone in the Royal Palace from the lowliest slave to the Empress Dowager may be suspected.”

“No!” Feiliu actually spoke up. “Shiny!” He pointed to the only demon present.

Ji Lí touched her skin.

“That’s wrong, I met Jiang Gé before,” Lin Chen rebutted. “She looked like all the light around her was being sucked into her body. It was very scary.”

Jingyan’s eyes narrowed. “When did you meet her?”

“Right,” Meng Zhi suddenly realised. “Young Master Lin, you have never mentioned it before.”

“Right! Pigeon Master!”

The expectant, weighty gazes on his person looked like they could stare one Lin Chen to death like Wei Jie, except not in admiration.5 It was therefore under such pressure that the Young Master caved and confessed everything; Mei Changsu’s bad health after being locked up on the Xuanjing Bureau, the favour called in to extend his lifespan by supernatural means, the gifts for this purpose.

“She never left her name there... as long as Changsu never came to the Cliffs of Mei I thought it would be done,” Lin Chen groaned. “Who knew that the demoness would break her promise?”

“...she did not break her promise,” Ji Lí defended, albeit with a low sulk that was still attractive. “The terms of the promise was: first, to extend his lifespan, and second, that as long as he did not go to the Cliffs of Mei, he would die of old age. Since he went, it was therefore the will of Heaven that he would die.”

She held up her hand to forestall the irate rebuts. “All of you, including Your Majesty, would know that. However, the Courts of Hell would follow my sister in this judgement.”

“So we still have to find her and compel her.” Jingyan went straight to the point. His hand fell to the silk pouch on his belt, except that the cloth was crushed under his hand before he started. “Speak! How do we differentiate a demon?”

“Use a Demon-Reflecting Mirror.”6

Lin Chen held out his hand, only to have dark eyes fall on him. “Well?”

“I don’t have one-”

“WHAT?!”

Ji Lí cringed at the triple shouts directed at her. “-but there’s one at the Jinling City God Temple!”7

“Say so earlier!” Meng Zhi leapt to his feet. “Does she know?”

Ji Lí rubbed her ears. “Of course my sister knows. But spirits like us can’t easily enter temples.  What is she going to do? ”

* * *

A veiled woman stood outside the bustling temple dedicated to Jinling’s City God. Long beholden to the fates of the city it guarded, the temple itself was clean and surrounded by trees. Yet, there was an unsettling fact about her, worsened by the fact that she was holding a burning oil pot with nary a rag between her hands and the pot.

She tossed the pot into the temple and turned about her heel. A step later, there was no longer a woman there.

Four hours later, Lin Chen had gone out and returned to the Su residence. To her great surprise, soot covered his face, and the stench of burnt incense hung about him. “What happened?”

“A fire broke out in the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings right as we arrived,” Lin Chen coughed as a blackened octagonal mirror was plunked onto the table. “Right at the mirror. She might not be able to use magic, but you don’t have to be a demon to throw oil and fire into a temple. Can you fix the mirror?”

At the same time, Meng Zhi, who had taken back his command of the Imperial Guards, reported the same fact to the Emperor standing in the ancestral temple. Before a pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg and the plaque of the Lin family’s Young Marshal Lin Shu, the Emperor of Liang whirled in a royal fury.

“ _It’s broken?!_ ”

* * *

**1 The demon elder sister’s courtesy name is Beike ( 贝壳), ‘shell’. The demon younger sister, this one, is called Hailí (海蜊) ‘sea clam’.**

**2 The burning of books and burying of scholars ( 焚书坑儒 fén shū kēng rú) refers to the supposed burning of texts in 213 BCE and live burial of 460 Confucian scholars in 210 BCE by Qin Shi Huang. The event caused the loss of many philosophical treatises of the Hundred Schools of Thought, which were were philosophies and schools that flourished from the 6th century to 221 BCE, during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period.**

**3  魅力 (mei li) is the Chinese word for ‘charm’. It shares similar etymological origin to the word ‘glamour’ in English – a word for beauty which had an originally supernatural bent.**

**4 ZH:  前无古人 _,_ 后无来者(qian wu gu ren, hou wu lai zhe).**

**5 ZH:  看殺衛玠 (kan sha wei jie): meaning to be stared to death. When Wei travelled, people eager to look at him gathered together and blocked the street. Since Wei had been weak in health since birth, after being watched for several days, he became sick and died later. People described his death as “Wei Jie was watched to death”.**

**6 The Demon-Reflecting Mirror ( 照妖鏡, zhào yāo jìng) is an artefact common to stories involving gods and demons. Figuratively, it also translates to ‘a way to see through conspiracy’.**

**7 The Chenghuangshen ( 城隍神; Chénghuángshén), usually translated as City God, is a tutelary deity or deities in Chinese folk religion who is believed to protect the people and the affairs of the particular village, town or city of great dimension, and the corresponding afterlife location. Beginning over 2000 years ago, its cult originally involved worship of a protective deity of a town's walls and moats. Later, the term came to be applied to deified leaders from the town, who serve in authority over the souls of the deceased from that town, and intervene in the affairs of the living, in conjunction with other officials of the hierarchy of divine beings.**


	5. 丁: Nail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s going on?” She asked an ashen-faced Lin Chen a time later, when everyone had recovered from the dizziness of looking upon a millennia-old clam spirit in her true form.
> 
> “Miss Ji,” gasped the Young Master of Langya Hall into his handkerchief, “please give us a warning next time you’re trying to do something like this. This kind of shock can kill people!”
> 
> The Emperor of Liang and Feiliu, both which had been equally ill after looking in the mirror, gave identical noises of assent.
> 
> “You see!” Lin Chen pointed. “They both agree!”

#  **丁** **: Nail**

In the Empress Dowager’s Palace, the maids in attendance trembled in the face of royal fury. Actually, it was less royal fury, and more of a sleeping dragon about to wake. In this respect, at least, Xiao Jingyan did his best to reign in his temper.

“Magistrate Gao just sent me a petition with regards to the fire,” he grumbled. “This lonely one... it’s infuriating!”

“Demons and spirits?” the Empress Dowager murmured. “Then we should bring in Marquis Yan Que? He knows something about the way.”1

“Does knowledge of the way help against magic?” Jingyan sighed into his dessert. “Mother Empress, I saw her change face.”

“Oh? There’s a performer changing faces now?”2

“Not unless that person can change faces to Commander Meng, Young Master Lin, Feiliu and Gao Zhan, along with their clothes.” Jingyan pointed to the eunuch in question. “You saw her, right?”

“Er... this matter... Miss Ji does have excellent skill,” the Head Eunuch admitted, having been standing at attention next to the door in anticipation of royal orders. “Almost like gods appearing and demons vanishing- ah, I misspoke, my apologies to Your Majesty,”3 he added to placate an irate Jingyan. “It was dark and your old servant’s eyes have worsened with age.”

Mollified, Jingyan still continued: “Demon or human, I- this lonely one still worries for Little Shu.”

The Empress Dowager gave him a look. “You are not the only one, Jingyan.”

The sound of his name caused the Emperor to incline his head. “Many thanks for the reproach, Mother Empress. Your child understands...”

“Since this spirit has brought back Little Shu’s body over a thousand  _li_ to Jinling, that alone should give her the benefit of the doubt,” Empress Dowager Jing observed. “Since there is evidence in her favour that this is not a worldly affair but a personal one with few obligations on the part of the Emperor, then there is no harm in believing. Even if you cannot place absolute belief in something of the gods and demons, then at least trust that she is a younger sister trying to stop her elder from the point of no return.”

She frowned. “This other demoness who... who killed Little Shu. She sounds like quite a character if she was willing to burn down that temple with people still inside just to get rid of the mirror.”

“Luckily the oil was mixed with something to stop it burning,” Jingyan sighed. “It only made black smoke which coincidentally blackened the mirror. The only thing to fear is that somehow the smoke damaged it.” He stared at his dessert. “With regards to the Inner Palace, the Empress is still in confinement, so I can only-”

“Of course, I will keep a lookout for suspicious behaviour amongst the palace women,” the Empress Dowager assured him. “Now eat your dessert. I made more. The box with hazelnut cake is yours, the other is for the Su residence.”

Jingyan started at the reminder. “But... Little Shu isn’t... able to eat it.” And the corners of his eyes compressed themselves.

“Isn’t Young Master Lin and that young bodyguard with Little Shu also there? And the rest of his men, too.” She did not mention- “Ah, ask that girl what she likes to eat. Do you think that demons can eat normal food like us?”

* * *

Given the point made by the demoness – Ji Lí, Jingyan reminded himself – about the archives, he was about to post more guards to it.

Then he remembered; very few people would ever visit the Royal Library or the attached Institute of Letters, and none of the willingly. The few eunuchs and maids that scurried to prostrate themselves in the face of the Imperial arrival was proof, if any, that no demons were here – demons, Jingyan imagined, would take on a different stance in the face of a human claiming sovereignty over the three realms.

“You,” he pointed to a random eunuch, who prostrated himself even lower into the ground. “What’s your name?”

“Replying to Your Majesty,” the eunuch softly reported, “your slave is Xiaobangzi. Does Your Majesty have any requests for the Institute of Letters to fulfil?”

“Raise your head up.” Jingyan waited, before he continued, “take all the annals of history to my study. I want to review the Censorate’s work.”

“Replying to Your Majesty, the Censorate and the Department of State Affairs are conducting their periodic review of the court’s history books.”

“What?” Jingyan roared. “Who proposed that?”

“Y- Your Majesty, Official Cai from the Ministry of Justice was on hand to supervise the transfer... he said that it was Your Majesty’s order to periodically review past documents...”

“...ah, right. This lonely one forgot...” This drew a sigh, before Jingyan looked down. “Xiaobangzi...” What he was about to say was tossed aside to the depths of memory.

Behind him, Head Eunuch Gao uttered softly: “Ah, we’ve seen a ghost.”4

“Does Your Majesty have any other requests?” The strong face from his past which haunted the worst nightmares of his life had returned, mixed with the androgyny and inability to grow facial hair which had been conferred by the eunuch’s purification.5 Even the respectful smile had a sardonic edge to it, like Little Shu was playing a game with him and the nightmare was over, all of his precious people...

…were dead, Jingyan reminded himself. His best friend, his real best friend rather than this ghost from the past, needed him.

“N- N- Not at all.” Jingyan smacked himself, an act which caused an utter of shock from the Head Eunuch, and for the servants surrounding him to look up and stare. “W- Why are there so many mosquitoes here?”

“Go!” Gao Zhan immediately took his cue, showing off his years of experience. “Clean out all the mosquitoes in the area! There is incense in the Inner Palace Office!”

“Yes, Gao- _gonggong_!” They fled immediately, including the one eunuch who had disturbed Jingyan so. It left Jingyan enlightened, furious, and chagrined at his own weakness.

Gao Zhan mournfully beheld the scurrying staff. “Your Majesty-”

“We go out to the Su residence!”

* * *

Since there was no arguing with the Emperor of Liang at this point, the end of a royal procession saw the Emperor bursting into the Su residence only to see Ji Lí, Feiliu, and Lin Chen, all three trying to polish a mirror the size of a melon. Its bronze surface had been tarnished with soot.

“...oh,” Lin Chen set down his half of the mirror. From one hand dangled a rag which had been blackened with soot and who knows what else. “Your Majesty, what is so urgent?”

“You!” Jingyan pointed to Ji Lí, who just looked puzzled. “Little Shu!”

“What’s going on?” Lin Chen’s head swivelled from the Emperor to the demoness. “We’ve been cleaning this mirror the whole day and only one half is clean.”

“The other demon used Little Shu’s face – with some changes – to enter the palace as a eunuch,” Jingyan’s tone was clipped. “Didn’t you say that your sister was restricted only to female forms?”

Ji Lí opened her mouth. Her limpid eyes flashed in thought. Then her teeth clicked shut. “I have never tried to turn into a eunuch...” her tone was rueful. “Demons can draw the five sense organs and wear a skin to change their faces.6 I never thought about the purpose of transformation... rather, it is not my speciality.”

She held up the mirror, one half of which had already been polished to a bright shine. “This Demon-Reflecting Mirror is still intact,” she directed it to reflect her own self in the eyes of everyone in the room. “See?”

“What’s going on?” She asked an ashen-faced Lin Chen a time later, when everyone had recovered from the dizziness of looking upon a millennia-old clam spirit in her true form.

“Miss Ji,” gasped the Young Master of Langya Hall into his handkerchief, “please give us a warning next time you’re trying to do something like this. This kind of shock can kill people!”

The Emperor of Liang and Feiliu, both which had been equally ill after looking in the mirror, gave identical noises of assent.

“You see!” Lin Chen pointed. “They both agree!”

* * *

**1 Taoism is also called  道教 (dao jiao) in Chinese, literally ‘the way’.**

**2 Bian lian ( 变脸) also refers to a form of dramatic art in Sichuan opera, where actors quickly change the vividly coloured masks they wear at incredibly fast speeds.**

**3 ZH:  神出鬼没 (shén chū guǐ mò): to change rapidly, literally ‘gods appear and devils vanish’.**

**4 ZH:  见鬼了 (jian gui le): a curse word, literally ‘we’ve seen a ghost’.**

**5 ZH:  净身 (jing shen): to be castrated, literally ‘to purify one’s body’.**

**6 ZH:  五官 (wu guan): nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears, lit. ‘five officials’. This is a reference to Pu Songling’s short story, Painted Skin (画皮, hua pi).**


	6. 戊: Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Replying to Your Majesty, the _Classic of Mountains and Seas_ records the Jade Emperor ordering Shentu and Yulü to guard the peach tree of Mt Dushuo, where all ghosts enter and exit the otherworld. To fight evil spirits, peach wood is important.”

#  **戊** **: Lance**

Jingyan gulped down the tea offered to him. Next to him, Feiliu had grabbed the portable warmer that had been left behind, and was clutching it tightly. “Okay,” the more articulate of the pair started once the bronze mirror had been put down and covered, so that it would no longer reveal the disturbing truth behind Ji Lí’s radiant features. “It worked.”

“It was terrifying,” Lin Chen shook his head. “Just... terrifying.”

Jingyan did not need convincing that she was a monster. The thing was, even if she was a monster, he did not know the reasoning by which the enemy operated. Ji Lí did not seem to understand what he had been trying to ask, so he had left it alone, but it left him wondering if the enemy’s success had simply been due to the elder sister understanding humans on a more fundamental level than her junior.

“Putting that aside,” Jingyan ploughed on, “revealing the other demoness is only the first step. The next step is to subdue her.” He was in his element – all his military experience was coming to the forefront. “What can be done on that front?”

“Ah... this is best done if you have a Taoist priest on hand,” Ji Lí delicately started. “Demons have their ways, and humans have theirs.”

“I see,” Jingyan said in the manner which meant that the capital’s Taoist practitioners would be rounded up soon enough. “Then, what about personal protection?”

“Hmm... my sister specialises more in the infiltration and theft part, since I focus more on defence,” the spirit remarked. “Speaking of personal protection, talismans, bronze mirrors in strategic places... the Royal Palace and the general environs of the Emperor have protections already in place, so Your Majesty can worry less.”

“ _Protections_?” Lin Chen repeated.

“King Zhou of Shang managed to continue ruling after gravely offending Nüwa because he still claimed sovereignty over the mortal world,” Ji Lí explained after a moment of thought. “Kings, and later emperors, receive divine protection from the ancestors in order to carry out divine mandate. Of course, that does not mean that royalty cannot be controlled – only that the fortunes of a dynasty are not as easily toppled as compared to the Shang-Zhou contest. My sister cannot harm Your Majesty directly. That does not equate to sending an assassin, or directing a concubine to used poison, or any number of things she might have learnt in Xianyang Palace.”

At this, Ji Lí gave the Emperor a measured look. “What?” Jingyan clipped back.

“Your Majesty,” the demoness slowly said, “when you met my sister who was disguised as a eunuch, why didn’t you arrest her right there?”

Jingyan frowned. “Huh? She... she... I didn’t think of it.”

Ji Lí nodded in time to the dawning horror on His Majesty’s face.

“Do you think...” Jingyan abruptly shook his head. “But... I didn’t feel anything.”

Abruptly, one half of her body was bent over the table. As her shadow loomed largest amidst the natural gloom of the Su residence’s main study, all traces of humanity had been leached out of her face, only the thinnest veneer remained, the shape of a beautiful woman’s face composed of nacre and lustrous in the gloom.

The sound of steel rubbing against the meta mouth of a scabbard resounded.

“ _Your Majesty,_ _emperor of the humans,_ ” the barely-human face rasped in a voice like the rubbing of pearl against silk. “ _What do you think we are?! The reasons why you_ mortals _,_ ” and she spat that word like a curse, “ _rule this world, is because the gods and immortals pity you all. Do you think that a mere sword, one which is stained with human blood at that, will defend you from us?_ _If you do not stay vigilant, you will_ _kill everyone you treasure and_ _drive your country to ruin out of your free will!_ ”

Then she settled back into her seat, a twitch of her sleeves having set the table right and flicked the teapot into her hand. “Let’s have some tea,” Ji Lí looked at the teapot, and then turned it upside down. “Ah There’s no more water.”

The tip of the sword in Jingyan’s hand had not moved.

“No more water?” Lin Chen fell over in his scramble to get to the door. “I think... I think I should call upon Marquis Yan. Borrow some water from him. Yes, that’s a great idea. Your Majesty, do you want to come along? Feiliu-”

The young pugilist, even with a glance in the direction of the demon with a human mask, shook his head. “Su- _gege_.”

“This lonely one will not leave Little Shu behind.” The Emperor settled back, sheathing his sword. Behind him, the swords of the Imperial Guards went back to their scabbards. “Gao Zhan.”

“Your slave is here.”

“Bring my summons to Marquis Yan Que. And,” Jingyan lifted his chin in defiance to her, “tell him it’s for an exorcism.”

* * *

The Marquis Yan, Yan Que, had been an avowed Taoist for over fourteen years. In the previous emperor’s reign he had had the honour of being the Royal Uncle for all the royal Princes. Although Empress Yan had been deposed in the end after the rebellion of the Prince Yu, Yan Que and his son Yan Yujin were still meritorious courtiers – though many of the Marquis’ duties had been handled by his son as the Marquis continued his studies in Taoism. The Marquis therefore answered the summons with all due haste, in Ministerial robes and a long bundle wrapped in silk.

“Ah,” Head Eunuch Gao looked at it. “Marquis...”

“Gao- _gonggong_. Although this humble subject 1 has had more interest in the pursuit of immortality,” the Marquis remarked, “I believe this would be useful against the enemy His Majesty now faces.”

“Very well,” the eunuch led him through the Su residence. “We have also called the palace’s corps of priests to bless all three palaces and six courtyards of the Inner Palace, the main hall, the Middle Court, and all properties within the Palace complex.”

“You have worked hard, Gao- _gonggong_ ,” the Marquis stepped in and bowed with proper deference after being announced and summoned. “Humble subject Yan Que greets Your Majesty-”

“Dispense with all formalities, Marquis,” Jingyan ordered.

The Marquis straightened his back and looked about, his eyes falling at the other three occupants of the main study he had been shown to. “Your Majesty has detailed the current situation to Gao-gonggong, who has relayed them to this humble subject. In pursuit of the way to immortality, though this humble subject is inexperienced in the matter that troubles Your Majesty at present, I have brought a gift.”

“What gift?” Jingyan incredulously stared as the Marquis unwrapped his bundle to extract three staves of wood. “What is this?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, the _Classic of Mountains and Seas_ records the Jade Emperor ordering Shentu and Yulü to guard the peach tree of Mt Dushuo, where all ghosts enter and exit the otherworld. To fight evil spirits, peach wood is important.”

“Peach wood?” Jingyan took the staff, turning about. “Miss Ji, does it... work?”

“If you don’t get hypnotised, if you don’t fall for any illusions, and if you are truly determined... I suppose.”

* * *

The veil of night cloaked the Royal Palace in its demesne. Lanterns lit up dim courtyards burgeoning with the flowers of late spring. The heart of the Empire, the Absolute Master’s estate, did not escape cosmic law in this manner.

In a corner of this place which was said to reflect the majesty of heaven, a little palace maid passed through open corridors and through a door, only to be held up at the sight of the mirror. The set of her shoulders relaxed.

“I see that Hailí has told you all my weaknesses,” she purred, beautiful in contrast to the sight reflected in the speculum surface; folds of flesh over chitinous bone mirrored where a palace maid would be.

From above, a club swung down. She made no move until the very last moment, when her body abruptly dove with her feet still attached to the floor. Clutching the club in hand, Feiliu continued to try and hit her with the club, the athleticism of his youth allowing him to keep up at supernatural speeds.

She keened as another club swung at her head with a sickening crack. Where the peach wood had hit scored across her temple, peeling off a skin – the face was only a mask, it seemed.

“Painted skin,” the Marquis Yan fished his club back, retreating to allow a third combatant into the fight. “Commander!”

“I am here!” Meng Zhi had been placed on the Langya List for his prowess in single combat for this purpose, and when paired with Feiliu made an incredible team as they traded blows with the demoness to strike at her. “Demoness, how dare you break into the Royal Palace!”

She blew acrid-smelling smoke into their faces, and uttered a chant which tangled branches into the swing of their arms.

“Ah, it’s Commander General Meng,” she sighed, taking a step which not only took her out of the way of another club swung at her, but also caused the last of her human mask to flutter away. The face underneath was so pale and indistinct as to be made out of chalk.

“This sad house-” one sleeve broke the club, and another froze Jingyan’s feet to the ground, “-Jiang Beike pays her respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the great Liang Empire.”

The formal salute was finalised with a deep bow. “My foolish younger sister does not change,” said the demoness. “Though she has power, experience and age, she has spent too long mouldering in the otherworld, and does not know of the foibles of humans. Peach wood, while effective, should be handled by a priest in the future.”

“Good to know,” Jingyan raised his arm.

“As I have demonstrated,” Beike continued, “continued fighting would benefit neither of us. This sad house could perhaps carry out an exchange with the imperial one.”

“Demon spawn!” Meng Zhi hollered, tangled in an elderly weeping willow whose branches held fast. “What can a demon do?”

“Amongst us demons, the strongest of us demons can call himself Equal to Heaven. He has a body as hard as meteoric iron, golden Fiery Eyes, and eternal life and youth. He knows seventy-two transformations into animate and inanimate objects, animals, and people. One Somersault Cloud from him would let him fly one hundred and eight thousand  _li_ in a single bound. Four hundred years ago, he wrecked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, fought the hundred thousand-strong Heavenly Army by himself, wrecked the Eight Trigram Crucible.” Beike’s voice held immense pride, low though it was directed as she stepped closer to the royal body. “In the end, though he was trapped under a mountain by the Buddha, but he is still alive, still powerful. A demon can overthrow a country as easily as turning her hand. As long as I am here, if I wished so the fifty thousand Imperial Guards, the three thousand beauties of the Inner Palace, the ten thousand servants of the Imperial Palace, will all die here with you, divine mandate or no.”

An immense strike threw Jingyan’s head to one side, the whiplash lifting him off of his feet to fall onto one side. “I have only come to carry out my directive. Why do you stand in my way?”

“You... killed my friend,” Jingyan’s spit had blood and a tooth mixed in the drool. “You stole his heart and ate it.”

“This is the pot calling the kettle black,” Jiang Beike knelt before him, her eyes greyed and alight in a manner not unlike her sister. “Fourteen years ago by the eastern seas, I left my heart, with my memories, in a pearl and gave it to a fellow clam for safekeeping. I did not expect anyone to dive down that far to retrieve it.”

Jingyan stopped struggling.

Jiang Beike continued. “I only took his heart in order to keep my promise at first, but imagine my surprise at what lay before his spirit tablet, its power tapped in order to invoke a promise which would overturn fate itself. I have flown thousands of miles, burnt down a temple, and discarded over ten masks to complete my mission before I could devote myself to this task.”

A shuddering exhale caused frost to bloom on Jingyan’s shoulders, over the cloak that he had donned over comparatively simpler robes to fight. “All of those complications and plans, Your Majesty, and all you had to do was face me that day and ask.”

Xiao Jingyan’s jaw twitched. A brilliant purple bruise had already coloured one cheekbone, and it was likely to remain there for a good month without adequate treatment or Lin Chen. Even so, no amount of polish in the Imperial Court could have shaved away a core part of him, one which drove him to speak the critical question:

“...why did you do all of this?”

Her face was pale and wan. Even if it did not seem human, there was an emotion of which he could recognise – yearning.

“I forgot who I loved.”

* * *

**1 ZH:  微臣 (wei chen), a first-person pronoun used by ancient Chinese officials before the Emperor.**


	7. Epilogue: Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the dawn of a new day, Mei Changsu awoke in the arms of the Emperor of Liang.

#  **Epilogue: Heartbeat**

“‘Bi Gan digging his heart out’ may be considered an anecdote, but amongst demons it is fundamentally true.” Jiang Gé, courtesy name of Beike, coughed delicately, having settled herself in the underground passage between the manor of the former Prince of Jing and the Su residence.

All of the light still seemed like it was being sucked into her, but it made little difference to Jingyan, who was focused more on the giant pearl at which she was chipping at with the aid of a chisel. “Through the efforts of my master the Duke of Qi, Bi Gan did not die, nor did he shed blood after plucking out his delicate seven-aperture heart due to Daji’s machinations. It took more effort from the Jade Pipa spirit to finish him off, but by then, his pregnant wife escaped into the forestry of Changlin, and went into labor there. With no one to help her, she gave birth to a boy in the rocky cave in the forest. King Wu of Zhou, at the end of the contest and the downfall of the Shang dynasty, sought out the mother and son, and conferred the surname Lin and the name of Jian upon the child, with the further honour of the duchy of Boling.”1

“The descendants of Lin Jian helped set up the Liang empire,” Jingyan tonelessly replied, still prepared to drive a club of wood down upon the demoness. Between them lay a pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg, one which had been at his side for thirteen years, passed hands just once, and languished on the altar of the Lin family for a year more. “What do you mean by all this?”

“Only this family’s troubles involving the heart as an organ,” Beike contemplated. “My sister did not tell you?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Jingyan pointed to the pearl. “The person in the memories... must be important to you. Your husband?”

The chisel paused, before it scratched onwards. “In a sense. This sad house served in the Inner Palace of Xianyang Palace once. The man was of the clan of Zhao, descended from the Ying clan. His name was Zheng. Mortal history would remember him as-”

“-the First Emperor of Qin,” Jingyan sighed. “Who under all of the heavens would not know, does not know his name? You were his Madame?”

She nodded, lips thin as the chisel worked to break open the giant pearl in her lap. “This sad house was once a performer under Li Si. The Prime Minister sent me to his master. He was an incredible man. I grew to love him, even as I told his fortune and realised his lifespan. He knew that I was immortal and ever-youthful. ‘Twas this that...” she paused. “He had the whole world at his feet already. I promised him, to wait for his reincarnation, to safeguard his kingdom, but he would not take this.”

The chisel cracked, and she started to tear at the pearlescent material. “My deceased husband sought to prolong his lifespan by any means possible, but he died. His empire foundered, his reputation wrecked by the Confucians, the only thing left to this sand house which bring comfort is the memories of him."

"When I had this heart, though... I remembered my late husband slightly. I think anyone would have been honoured to stay at his side if they could receive the depth of his emotion.”

The chisel cracked through, and she gave a soft sound as her fingers dug in and gouged out a glistening, wet mass of muscle. Under Jingyan’s eye, the organ gave a twitch, and continued in its way before Jiang Beike smashed it into Mei Changsu’s chest. Jingyan gave a cry, but the organ passed harmlessly through his skin. Her hand rested its nails on his chest in the process, before the candles blew out. Hailí’s light, the passage’s entrances, not a single bit of light was present.

Frozen in the darkness, Jingyan’s shoulders rose as he put his own hand on a warming yet cool touch – Mei Changsu, he knew. “Being frozen for so long is not good for his body,” he said, and carried the scholar up as sunrise broke over the wall of the Su residence.

There was no luminous lady, no scattered remnant of pearl, no hag wearing a painted face magicked to look real and fool him. Under the palms of his hands was only the twitch and jump of a pulse, thrumming and beating.

In the dawn of a new day, Mei Changsu awoke in the arms of the Emperor of Liang...

***

THE END

 

* * *

**1 I got all this info from here: <https://llonkrebboj.tumblr.com/post/164364130285/names-part-three>**


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